A Walk in the Country

On Friday I posted about how I had a major holiday non-scale victory wherein I got up and went for a walk on Thanksgiving morning. Here's a little more on that story....

I was spurred on to consider walking while on vacation when I read a few weeks ago about a virtual 5 K Turkey Trot going on that day. People were going to commit to running (or walking) 5K/3.1 mi. Thanksgiving morning. I knew I was going to be visiting my grandmother and not going to be responsible for the entire Thanksgiving meal, so as I read that post I wondered why I didn't try to commit to walking the Turkey day 5K myself.

I knew why...

Because I knew me and me doesn't get up and walk while on vacation. Me likes to indulge on vacation in every sense of the word - eating treats, lazing about, etc. etc.

Well, apparently that is the old me, because the new me committed to walking on vacation by telling my friend Stephanie I would do it, packing walking clothes and my Garmin and then setting the alarm to get up to walk every morning.

And the new me did it.

It was kind of cold, but I was out for a walk by 7:15 am every day and enjoying the long quiet country roads that make up my grandparents "neighborhood".

Saturday, the 3rd morning, I didn't really want to get up, but I made myself. There was too much bothering me. Like I still needed a photo of the road and my son had told me the night before he'd get up and walk with me in the morning. :) Plus there was the fact that I knew I'd feel better after my morning walk. So, I got up and my son joined me - all bundled and full of chit chat.

While my eating wasn't all that great on our vacation the fact that I made good on my commitment to exercise was HUGE. It was a reminder that change IS possible. It may take a while and we may have so many failures along the way that we think the only option is to quit, but it's not.

It's often said, "baby steps" and it's so true, because eventually those baby steps add up and you find yourself doing things you never thought you could or would - like going for cold morning walks while on vacation. :)

Change in Progress

Update: I think I've got it. :) Now to folding and getting my walk done while the rain has subsided.

I'm in the middle of "decorating" my blog while getting laundry done today, so please bear with me. Hopefully I'll get it together before the day is through...or at least by December 1st.

Vacation is Good

I don't normally post on Sundays because it's my day of rest and I'm enjoying being home between church services and relaxing. However, I've done lots of relaxing the past four days and I had to pop on here to say that I took a walk this afternoon and I'm feeling very renewed and refreshed and ready to keep working on my weight loss - EVEN IF IT IS THE HOLIDAYS. :)

I'll write more tomorrow, but just had to share a bit today. :)

Thankful Friday & NSV

I've got a few minutes to be online and decided to check in and finish up my week of thankfulness by say how grateful I am for friends who have been such a great support and encouragement in my weight loss journey.

My journey to become healthier has turned into something much more than I ever expected. Through the wisdom of friends in blog land and the regular phone calls and texts of a close personal friend I've been able to continue on this journey and not give up on myself.

It's that kind of support that lead me to another step towards my healthier new self....

...I got up and went for a walk Thanksgiving morning. I also went again this morning before we went on an outing with the family.

That's my non-scale victory, because I never thought I'd see the day I'd go for a walk on a holiday. :)

God is good and so are the friends he's blessed my life with.

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #8

Today's Weight: 180 . 5

Loss/Gain: - 1 .5

I'm doing my Hot 100 update early as I will be basically unplugging for the rest of this Thanksgiving week/holiday weekend.

Today I'm thankful for my health and for not giving up on my health. I'm thankful that somewhere deep inside of me is a spark that makes me continue fighting to win this weight battle, even if it takes a lifetime.

5 . 5 down

14 . 5 to go

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!

Thankful Tuesday

Today as I was praying I really thought about my family and how blessed I am by all the familial links in my life. So, in no particular order, I'm thankful for:

• My husband for his faithfulness to me in marriage, to provide for our family and for being a part of our children's lives. Even when his job or college left him with little extra time he has always made time to play with the kids or listen to me talk.
• My children who each are turning into their own people. There's my kind-hearted artist girl, my crafty helper-leader girl and a boy with a great imagination. While each day has it's ups and downs there are plenty of good times where these kids bring us great joy.
• My parents and brother (my only sibling) who are still in touch with each other though we are in three different states. It's a blessing to be a part of a family that loves each other and has not let differences break us apart. To God be the glory!
• My sister-in-law, who opened her heart to us from the day she got serious with my brother, and who has been quite the trooper and stood by him through a bout with cancer last year. She's one tough cookie and I know God brought her into our lives for a reason.
• My in-laws on my husband's side. I don't think a blonde, blue-eyed girl was who they imagined their Mexican son/brother marrying some day, but I never would've known it by how they acted. From day one they were polite and caring and have loved me for who I am over these 16 years of marriage. My mother-in-law has also been very willing to teach me to make mexican food and share her tips, instead of harboring them as her own special treats to make when she's visiting.

And last, but most certainly not least...

• I'm so thankful for my salvation. The fact that Jesus would give his life for me, a sinner who is so full of mistakes, amazes me. That He would go even further to bless my life with the above is an added bonus. I don't regret one moment I have lived as a Christian, and will never tire of thanking Him for not giving up on me.

Thankful Monday

I woke up today feeling much better than I did a week ago. So, as I was setting out for my walk (and so very grateful to be walking again) I decided I would do a week of posts of things I'm thankful for.

Yes, I know, it's not an uncommon theme with this week being the week of our Thanksgiving Day holiday, but I also know that it's common to sit and feel sorry for ourselves when we really have so much to be thankful for. Case in point, I told my pastor about a positive development in my life last night and his reply was, "Oh good! It's good to hear the positive stuff going on too!"

Yep, it's definitely easier to let out the negative stuff and not remember to come back and share the good going on. So, here's some good things I'm grateful for today:

• My cold is going away and I am not having coughing fits any more.
• PMS is over and for another month the hormonal roller coaster has settled back into normalcy. :)
• No one in my family caught my cold.
• My children get up and get ready for school without complaining.
• My husband was willing to sit and talk with me alone for two hours Friday night about life; where we've been, where we're going and he was patient with me when I shared some struggles and thoughts.

I'll stop at that for today. What are you thankful for? I'd love to hear!

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #7

Today's Weight: 182 . 0

Loss/Gain: +1 . 0

It figures. I've been sick this week and then TOM arrived two days ago. So, only one light walk has happened while both the sicky and munchy monsters have been visiting my house/life.

I'm feeling better in my head and now just praying for the coughing to stop. My hope is next week will be so much better than this.

It's weeks like this that make me realize how much I have to be grateful for. I only get sick like this about once or twice a year, same for my family, but I know there are people dealing with sickness year round.

So, while I'm vexed that this less hectic week turned into a sicky, snacky week I am also grateful for general good health. My cold will pass, so will my monthly, and I will be back to normal soon enough. It's a lifelong journey and I can't think this one week will ruin everything.

For the record...

4 down

16 to go

Have a good weekend everyone!

A Little Fuzzy

First off, thank you for the well wishes!

I'm still feeling a little fuzzy in the head, but better than the last two days. Since I felt a little better I went for a walk this morning. I kept it slow and short.

I'm keeping hydrated and drugged to help clear congestion and break up mucous. I hate coughing and am doing my best to keep this cold from getting any worse. So, no big plans...just trying to get better. :)

Rest & Fluids

I've felt like this most of today...

Friday my throat was sore and it has progressed until today is the worst I've felt so far. I thought rest over the weekend would help, and maybe it did, but I've been wishing I could sleep all day today.

Itchy eyes, sore throat, runny nose...basic cold symptoms. So it's rest and fluids for me (though I keep snacking too...darn it. That's stopping tonight.)

I am grateful for one thing...I'm feeling crappy the week between our conference and the week of Thanksgiving. I don't have too much extra going on this week, so I can sneak in naps and hopefully get over this cold quickly.

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #6

Friday's Weight: 181 . 0

Loss/Gain: - 1 . 0 lb

I'm very pleased with this loss and here's why.

Short Story:
I've had a week that was crazy busy from sun up to sun down. I've literally had about 30 minutes a day to sit and just relax. While this schedule did not allow for any formal exercise it did end up being one of my best eating weeks ever full of all kinds of non-scale victories.

Long Story:
If you look at my Daily Mile widget you'll see my last workout was a week ago and this is true. My busy week started with laundry and house cleaning on Saturday to prepare for company coming for a week long stay on Monday.

Then this past week was a Bible Conference at our church wherein I helped in the kitchen preparing, serving and cleaning up refreshments for a break in the morning seminars. After that I would go home pick up the house, shower, get kids from school, iron clothes for evening services, direct the flow of showers and getting ready for those services and then we'd be out the door for evening services.

Somewhere in between that I made time to work on two poster projects for our church, have lunch with my husband one day and our guests another and check my emails. :)

It was crazy.

At the same time it was the kind of crazy that only happens a few times a year and is wonderful to be a part of. Especially when I've had successes, otherwise known as non-scale victories, in my eating like this:

• Our refreshments for the break were juice, coffee, fruit and donuts. I only had 1/2 a donut on the last morning. I took my 32 oz. water bottle and drank that every morning and brought my own snacks consisting of fruit and cheese sticks or a yogurt.

• When I went to Olive Garden for lunch one day I did not eat any breadsticks - for the 1st time in my life!!! I only had two servings of salad and one bowl of pasta fagioli soup.
  When my friends ordered seconds of soup I kind of wanted to, but realized it was only for one of two reasons (1) peer pressure "they are, so why not" and (2) "I don't want to make them feel bad. They are larger than me and might feel bad for eating more when I'm not." The latter thought was due to one of them confiding in me she is working on losing weight. But then I realized this is about MY journey and I needed to do what was best for me. I was satisfied and needed to stop. And I did. (HUGE victory for me!!!)

• I went to lunch with my husband some delicious meditteranean food and again only ate until satisfied.

In fact, this whole week I can honestly say that I ate only until satisfied every. single. day. I actually had to eat dinner at 9:30 the night before my weigh-in, so I know the scale was up a little due to that, because I have hovered between 180 - 181 all week.

Oh, I also have to add that I was able to wear a blouse this week that hasn't fit me since I bought it a year ago, and an Indian outfit I wore a year-and-a-half ago has gotten big on me and I was able to pinch the sides in an inch on either side of the top to show a friend how loose it was.

When I showed my friend that she replied, "I've been meaning to tell you that whatever you are doing is working...you're losing weight and I can tell!!"

So, while my weigh-in shows only a pound loss for the last two weeks I have to say the victories in my life with regards to weight and eating have been worth much, much more than that.

It's why I'm proud to say for the record...

5 pounds down

15 to go

Have a great weekend and I will check back in next week!

Veterans Day

I will be posting my weight update tomorrow. Today I'd like to simply say thank you to our veterans.

Card design and poetry is my own work.

All pieces of art used in the creation of this card are from "DigiDiva" at Gotta Pixel.

Buffet NSV x 2

Hello! I have a very busy week ahead, but wanted to pop in to share a wonderful non-scale victory involving a buffet dinner.

The other day we went to Golden Corral for dinner to break a time of fasting. Haven not eaten in a long time left me very hungry, but I told myself I didn't want to overeat and be stuffed to the point of sickness...easily done when breaking a fast.

And I didn't.

I enjoyed a full meal and was full, but I was not stuffed. I didn't feel sick, or have any regrets that I ate too much.

On top of that, I did not eat anything else the rest of the evening.

I knew I would be full until bedtime and told myself I needed to try and not snack just because I was eating again. At one point I started to reach for a Reese's PB Cup (my FAVORITE), but I stopped in in my mind reminded myself that I had dessert at Golden Corral and I didn't need more.

THIS IS HUGE FOR ME!!!

So, I start the week off with that bright thought. I'm also glad to report that while the scale isn't down at that "fun" number I saw Friday morning after fasting, it is lower than my last weigh-in.

Hip, hip, hooray! Here's to a great week and breakthroughs in overeating!!

Weigh-In ... Hot 100 Update #5

Today's Weight: -----

Loss/Gain: ----

Sorry for the delay in a Friday weigh-in post today, but it's been a busy day. Also, I have slightly different post today. I will not be posting my weight today.

Yesterday I joined with some others in a personal 24-hour time of fasting. I didn't have a say so in the scheduling so doing it a day before weigh-in was out of my control. It sure did mess with the scale. :) In a fun-to-see-something-so-low way, but not in an honest-weight-for-the-week way.

So, I've decided not to post my weight today. It should even back out by next week and maybe I'll even see something close to that number by then...for real. :)

Unfortunately this also messes with my Hot 100 update, but you'll have to bear with me for now. :)

Have a great weekend!

A Ban

I think I'm going to have to ban myself...from candy. argh. *shaking head* I haven't eaten as much candy as the old Leah would've, but I've eaten more than a Hot 100 girl should be.

The week's not over and I'm not letting it ruin my days, but I had to be honest with everyone. Today I've only had three bites of pumpkin cake, so that's good.

Time to go finish up a few things this afternoon before I start dinner. I hope you're all doing good during this candy-infested week.